Concept Note
Artificial intelligence reigns as one of the most critical emerging technologies in the world today. The rapid evolution of generative models has left the world wondering if the AI singularity has come. Major global powers, bidding for tech supremacy, are pouring tens of billions of dollars into AI research. However, the implications and risks of AI development remain uncertain. How will AI, increasingly approximating human-level learning, shape the future of work, social justice and equality, national security, environmental sustainability, geopolitical conflicts, and the paradigm of economic growth? These urgent concerns remain unanswered.
Humanity seems to have entered a new era of “AI enchantment,” where the ever-progressing AI technology exerts an unpredictable, almost magical, influence over our vision of the future. In recent years, international organizations such as the United Nations and OECD have proposed AI principles that call for a more responsible and inclusive advancement of AI research and application. Similarly, China, the United States, and the European Union have also initiated programs on AI ethics and AI governance. However, these governmental efforts, which remain still divided by ideological and geopolitical concerns, lag still far behind the staggering speed of AI development. Policymakers and public bodies have been stretched to a breaking point.
The challenge we face today is unprecedented. As an academic forum, we strive to disenchant AI through social sciences and global dialogue. Our goal is to gain a reasonably sharpened insight into the socio-political, economic, and cultural dimension of AI, alleviate the “AI panic,” and transform AI from a catalyst for crises to a source of solutions for the public. We cordially invite policymakers, scholars, business leaders, and industry experts worldwide to converse on responsible AI practices, and envision a future world it should help shape.
